White-faced whistling duck

Help local ducks by avoiding feeding then human foods like bread, which can lead to health problems.

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Like other ducks, white-faced whistling ducks are excellent swimmers with powerful leg muscles and webbed feet.
They have long necks, long legs, and short bodies, like the body shape of other whistling duck species.
Their faces and throats are white, while the backs of their heads and necks are black. Their backs are a chestnut brown, and underparts are black and white with a barred pattern. The tail is black, and feet are a bluish gray. Their bill is black with a lighter subterminal band (near the end).
Adults are around 17-19 inches in length, and their average weight is around 1.5 pounds. Adult males and females are monomorphic, meaning that they are identical in appearance.
Juveniles are duller in coloration with a grayish white face and throat; the backs of the heads and necks are a dark brown, and the chestnut color on their backs is less prominent.

Range – Southern part of Central America; South America in the northern part of the continent in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana and from Brazil through Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and into central Argentina; throughout most of Africa, south of the Sahara, including Madagascar
Habitat – Freshwater lakes, swamps, marshes, and sometimes more brackish waters; open spaces with freshwater are preferred over wooded areas.

Males and females form lifelong permanent pair bonds. Mutual preening is an important behavior in forming and maintaining pair bonds. Breeding season begins with the rainy season, which varies depending on location.
Nests are built on the ground and concealed by reeds or tall grasses or built in hollow tree cavities.
Copulation takes place in water. Males and females will dip their bills into the water, and males will cheek-roll (a behavior in which the duck will rub the sides of his face on his back). After copulation, the pair will engage in a step-dance in the water together with their wings outstretched.
Clutch size ranges from six to 12 eggs, averaging 10, and eggs are white. Both parents incubate over 26 days.
Upon hatching, the ducklings are cared for by both parents and are concealed since they are vulnerable.
Ducklings fledge when they are around 2 months old. They will be considered mature at 2 years old.

This species is listed as Least Concern but is susceptible to avian botulism and avian influenza.
On a broader scale, ducks are dependent on clean water sources and may be affected by habitat loss, changes in the environment, and pollution of waterways. The feeding of bread and other human foods to local ducks leads to serious health problems, disease, overcrowding due to more available food causing stress and aggression between birds, and habituation to humans leading to decreased fear and a higher likelihood of being hit by vehicles, entangled in litter, and predation by other animals.

Feeding local ducks can lead to leftover food attracting other scavenging animals, which in high concentration can lead to zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Overcrowding of waterfowl can also lead to environmental effects from their feces and foraging habits. Waterfowl like geese that become habituated may nest and raise young near humans, leading to defensive behavior of nests and offspring.

Zoo Atlanta houses white-faced whistling ducks and educates the public about this species, threats, and ways to help birds worldwide.

You can help local ducks by avoiding feeding them human foods like bread and crackers. These foods can lead to serious health issues and the problems listed above. Even small amounts add up when they are fed often.

These ducks are highly social, and flocks range in the hundreds of individuals.
There are eight species of whistling ducks, also called “tree ducks,” although this species does not spend much time perching. They spend the day resting and preening near water and foraging for food at night.
White-faced whistling ducks have a distinctive, loud three-note whistle, for which they are named.
Their lifelong pair bonds, participation of both males and females in incubation, monomorphism, and one molt per year (most ducks have two body molts per year and one wing molt) are traits that align more with swans rather than ducks, and their genus name, Dendrocygna, means “tree swan.” Whistling ducks, swans and geese, and other ducks, however, are all in different subfamilies.
Ducks have internal air sacs that extend from their lungs into their body cavities. They also have a layer of down that not only keeps them warm, but also traps air that aids in buoyancy.

Baldassarre, G. (2014). Basis for the Book: Taxonomy. In Ducks, Geese, and Swans of North America (Vol. 1, p. Xxviii). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
BirdLife International. 2016. Dendrocygna viduata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22679763A92829021. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22679763A92829021.en. Downloaded on 04 May 2020.
Ellis, E. (n.d.). Just Ducky [Web blog post]. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/zoonooz/just-ducky/
Johnsgard, Paul A., "Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World: Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling or Tree Ducks)" (2010). Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard. 4. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciducksgeeseswans/4
Hawkins, F., Safford, R., Skerrett, A. Gale, J., & Small, B.E. (2015). Plate I: Malagasy Region: Ducks I. In Birds of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands: Seychelles, Comoros, Mauritius, Reunion, and Rodrigues (p. 86). United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Publishing
Oakland Zoo. (n.d.). White Faced Whistling Duck. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from www.https://www.oaklandzoo.org/animals/white-faced-whistling-duck
Ries, J. (2015, January 1). White-Faced Whistling Duck Fact Sheet. Retrieved May 05, 2020, from http://aviansag.org/Fact_Sheets/Anseriformes/White-faced_whistling_duck.pdf
The Problem with Feeding Ducks. (n.d.). Retrieved May 05, 2020, from https://www.wildlifecenter.org/problem-feeding-ducks
Zoo Atlanta animal care team.

Updated June 2020

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